Systems Theory Orientation and Clinical Practice: A Survey of Pediatric Psychologists

Traditionally, the focus of pediatric psychology and clinical child psychologyapproaches has been on both the child and his/her family, but the emphasis oftreatment strategies has favored individually oriented behavioral, cognitive-be-havioral, and psychodynamic conceptual models of assessment and treatment(e.g., Kaufman, Holden, & Walker, 1989). However, systems theory and familysystems approaches, also referred to as ecosystems or biopsychosocial models(e.g., Engel, 1977; Mash, 1989), have increasingly become accepted as essentialtools by mainstream psychology. Recent surveys of clinical and research trendsin clinical psychology training programs suggest that systems approaches arewell represented in terms of faculty orientation and empirical endeavors (e.g.,Mayne, Norcross, & Sayette, 1994; Sayette & Mayne, 1990). Other citationsalso reflect the growing interest of pediatric and clinical child psychologists in